tiddles
03-06-10, 12:05 AM
I could be wrong but the story below from The Age seems a bit slewed, I think that the total U.S. Defence budget was around the figure Quoted of $661 billion & close to $300 billion of that is personnell costs. Cant really say about the others but if France spent $63 billion & Britain $58 billion on new equipment I think they may have been robbed going on outward appearances.Anyhow overall spending is going up so spending on new gear is most likely going up too.
Tiddles
Spending on weapons soars despite global financial woes RICHARD NORTON-TAYLOR, LONDON
June 3, 2010
GOVERNMENTS around the world might be heralding an age of austerity and warning citizens they will need to cut public services, but the aftershocks of the global financial crisis have had little impact on military budgets, according to a leading think tank.
Last year, $US1.5 trillion ($A1.8 trillion) was spent on weapons, an annual increase in real terms of 5.9 per cent, said the latest report by the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute (SIPRI).
The US accounted for more than half of the total increase, though arms spending increased fastest in Asian countries, with China raising its military expenditure most, followed by India. Global spending has risen by nearly 50 per cent over the past decade, said SIPRI.
The US headed the list of the world's top 10 arms buyers last year, spending $US661 billion on military equipment. It was followed by China (spending an estimated $US100 billion), France ($US63.9 billion), Britain ($US58.3 billion), Russia (an estimated $US53.3 billion) and Japan ($US51.8 billion), according to the report.
Though some large-scale weapons programs were cancelled in the latest US budget plans, notably the F-22 stealth fighter, more money was earmarked for other projects, including unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) and cyberwarfare, said SIPRI.
The British government is likely to follow suit in the forthcoming strategic defence review, though it is expected to make significant cuts in the number of F-35 joint strike fighters proposed for the British navy's two planned large aircraft carriers.
Of European countries, Britain accounted for the biggest absolute increase (of $US3.7 billion), followed by Turkey and Russia. Cyprus increased military spending most in real terms, taking inflation into account.
Given its financial woes, Greece, which has traditionally devoted a higher percentage of its wealth to defence than most NATO countries, has already decided to cut military spending this year, the report said.
Natural resources, notably oil, can be a source of international or national conflict, inevitably leading to higher military spending. SIPRI pointed to Nigeria, where, it said, ''the massive environmental damage caused by oil extraction and the lack of benefit to oil-producing regions has generated grievances'', and to Brazil, which has justified planned purchases of submarines ''in terms of the need to protect newly discovered underwater oil fields''.
It added that in Afghanistan, where the conflict has fuelled global arms production, insurgent groups and warlords have been collecting up to $US400 million a year from the opium poppy harvest. Only six of the biggest armed conflicts last year concerned territory, with 11 fought over the nature and make-up of a national government, SIPRI said.
GUARDIAN
Tiddles
Spending on weapons soars despite global financial woes RICHARD NORTON-TAYLOR, LONDON
June 3, 2010
GOVERNMENTS around the world might be heralding an age of austerity and warning citizens they will need to cut public services, but the aftershocks of the global financial crisis have had little impact on military budgets, according to a leading think tank.
Last year, $US1.5 trillion ($A1.8 trillion) was spent on weapons, an annual increase in real terms of 5.9 per cent, said the latest report by the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute (SIPRI).
The US accounted for more than half of the total increase, though arms spending increased fastest in Asian countries, with China raising its military expenditure most, followed by India. Global spending has risen by nearly 50 per cent over the past decade, said SIPRI.
The US headed the list of the world's top 10 arms buyers last year, spending $US661 billion on military equipment. It was followed by China (spending an estimated $US100 billion), France ($US63.9 billion), Britain ($US58.3 billion), Russia (an estimated $US53.3 billion) and Japan ($US51.8 billion), according to the report.
Though some large-scale weapons programs were cancelled in the latest US budget plans, notably the F-22 stealth fighter, more money was earmarked for other projects, including unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) and cyberwarfare, said SIPRI.
The British government is likely to follow suit in the forthcoming strategic defence review, though it is expected to make significant cuts in the number of F-35 joint strike fighters proposed for the British navy's two planned large aircraft carriers.
Of European countries, Britain accounted for the biggest absolute increase (of $US3.7 billion), followed by Turkey and Russia. Cyprus increased military spending most in real terms, taking inflation into account.
Given its financial woes, Greece, which has traditionally devoted a higher percentage of its wealth to defence than most NATO countries, has already decided to cut military spending this year, the report said.
Natural resources, notably oil, can be a source of international or national conflict, inevitably leading to higher military spending. SIPRI pointed to Nigeria, where, it said, ''the massive environmental damage caused by oil extraction and the lack of benefit to oil-producing regions has generated grievances'', and to Brazil, which has justified planned purchases of submarines ''in terms of the need to protect newly discovered underwater oil fields''.
It added that in Afghanistan, where the conflict has fuelled global arms production, insurgent groups and warlords have been collecting up to $US400 million a year from the opium poppy harvest. Only six of the biggest armed conflicts last year concerned territory, with 11 fought over the nature and make-up of a national government, SIPRI said.
GUARDIAN